Our allocation of La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2023 is always limited, and it always sells out. La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2023 is the estate Chardonnay from Yoshi and Kyoko Sato's windswept, organic vineyard on Mount Pisa, Central Otago. The wine has dried apple, pear, flint and a salted-butter finish, and James Suckling rated it 96 POINTS. It suits drinkers who like Chardonnay with depth and tension.
Le Chant du Vent means "the song of the wind". Pour a glass and the aromas on the nose are dried apple and sliced pear, with a seashell and flint note. In the glass it opens up to apple pie, smoke and a hint of ginger. The wine is full-bodied yet light on its feet.
It comes from the Satos' own vineyard on the Pisa Range, a site very exposed to strong wind. The Chardonnay is planted across 3 blocks running from the top of the estate to the bottom. We'd open it for a special dinner, or put a few bottles away.
The winemaking is patient and hands-off. The grapes were pressed slowly overnight in a basket press, then fermented on wild yeast in oak barrels. The wine spent 16 months in French and Austrian oak, 16% of it new. It was bottled in August 2024 without fining or filtering.
What it tastes like
This wine has aromas of dried apple and sliced pear, with seashells and flint behind them. Flint here means a smoky, struck-stone note.
On the palate it has density and lightness at the same time. Give it air by swirling it in the glass, and apple pie, smoke and hints of ginger come through.
The finish is long, with a pleasant touch of bitterness and a salted-butter richness at the end.
Style at a glance
- Body: full, with density and lightness together
- Sweetness: dry
- Oak: 16 months in French and Austrian oak barrels, 16% new
- Style: flinty, dense, smoky, long
Food to enjoy this with
This is a wine best enjoyed with great food. Good matches include:
- Roast chicken with lemon and thyme
- Crayfish with brown butter
- Pan-roasted hapuka with a beurre blanc
- Pork belly with roasted apples, which picks up the apple pie in the wine
- Gruyère or aged Comté
- Buttered popcorn with sea salt: an odd one, but the salted-butter finish of the wine and the salt on the popcorn meet in the middle
Who makes it
Sato is the work of Yoshiaki (Yoshi) and Kyoko Sato. They met in 1998 while working for a Japanese bank in Tokyo, and spent more than 10 years in banking in Tokyo and London. In 2006 they moved to New Zealand to study viticulture and winemaking at Lincoln University. Both started their wine careers at Felton Road under Blair Walter. Yoshi went on to make wine at Mount Edward from 2009. That was also the year of the first Sato wine: 190 cases of Pinot Noir. Kyoko spent 12 years at Felton Road before joining Sato full-time in 2018.
La Ferme de Sato is the couple's own vineyard, planted in 2016 on the upper slopes of the Pisa Range at 295 to 345 metres. The land had been used for sheep grazing and had never seen chemicals. It is farmed biodynamically and certified organic by BioGro. The vines are planted closely together across 3.2 hectares, mostly Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with smaller plots of Chenin Blanc, Gamay and Cabernet Franc. The Satos have made the wine in their own winery since 2019.
About the vintage
Sophie Preece's 2023 vintage report on Central Otago quoted consultant viticulturist Timbo Morrison-Deaker, who described it as the third exceptional season in a row under the influence of La Niña. The final 4 weeks brought a sharp change, and frost fighting was back for the first time in about 3 years. Berries were larger than usual, which lifted yields.
Sugars at harvest came in lower than expected, and natural acidity (malic acid, the tart acid in green apples) higher. Timbo still expected 2023 to be seen as a stellar vintage.
James Suckling found that 2023 performed exceptionally well in the South Island. In his 2024 New Zealand vintage report he named Sato among the excellent wineries of Central Otago, saying its "current releases, mostly 2023s, are excellent."
Critic scores and ratings
- 96 POINTS – James Suckling – JamesSuckling.com, October 2025
"Dried-apple and sliced-pear aromas with seashells and flint follow through to a full body with density and lightness at the same time. It develops beautifully in the glass with apple pie, smoke and hints of ginger. The persistent finish has just the right amount of bitterness and salted butter at the end. Drink or hold. Screw cap."
When to drink it
James Suckling says it can be enjoyed now or cellared.
Technical details
| Winery: |
Sato Wines |
| Wine: |
La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay |
| Vintage: |
2023 |
| Variety: |
Chardonnay |
| Region: |
Mount Pisa, Central Otago |
| Country: |
New Zealand |
| Oak: |
16 months in French and Austrian oak barrels, 16% new |
| Fermentation: |
Wild yeast, in oak barrels |
| Closure: |
Screw cap |
| Organic: |
Estate vineyard certified organic by BioGro |
Where to buy
For international delivery to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, the La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2023 is available from our winenz.com website. For delivery within New Zealand, buy it from thewineryonline.co.nz. You can also buy it at our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores (7–9 Ballarat Street, Queenstown and 27 Ramshaw Lane, Arrowtown), alongside a large range of New Zealand and international wine. On both websites and in both stores you can build a mixed case from a large range of wines, and if you are visiting from overseas, we can ship it home for you.
Questions we are often asked
How was La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2023 rated?
James Suckling rated La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2023 96 POINTS.
What does Le Chant du Vent mean?
Le Chant du Vent is French for "the song of the wind". The La Ferme de Sato vineyard on Mount Pisa is very exposed to strong wind.
Can I cellar La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2023?
Yes. James Suckling says Le Chant du Vent 2023 can be enjoyed now or held in the cellar.
How is Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2023 made?
Sato basket-pressed the grapes overnight, fermented the juice on wild yeast in oak barrels and matured it for 16 months in French and Austrian oak before bottling it unfined and unfiltered.
Is La Ferme de Sato organic?
Yes. La Ferme de Sato, the Satos' own vineyard on the Pisa Range, is farmed biodynamically and certified organic by BioGro.
Where can I buy La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2023?
The Winery ships La Ferme de Sato Le Chant du Vent Chardonnay 2023 internationally from winenz.com to the USA, Australia, UK, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, China and South Korea, and delivers within New Zealand from thewineryonline.co.nz. You can also buy it in our Queenstown and Arrowtown stores, at 7–9 Ballarat Street, Queenstown and 27 Ramshaw Lane, Arrowtown.
